Norton Elementary

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"Our child attended Norton Elementary School for 2 years; 3rd and 4th grade, 2012 and 2013. Although our child’s 3rd grade experience wasn't so bad, our child’s 4th grade experience was horrible for all of us. Not only did we find the teachers not well trained in working with a student with special needs which is why the school district placed our child in this school, they out right tried every way to make our child feel embarrassed in front of the class making by exposing our child’s disability. This damaged our child’s self-esteem thus making the entire year a struggle. We even went the extra mile and hired a personal tutor and when our tutor reached out to our child’s teacher, the teacher wasn't even willing to work with our tutor. When working with the school counselor, we found out that not until the end of our child’s 4th grade class was the School District Psychologist even made aware of our child’s special needs outlined in the IEP. Also, in these 2 years, we've never even met the school principal. We would see him at school events or in the hallways but for someone who is there to take care and ensure our kids get the right education, he made "NO" attempt to even make himself personable by introducing himself. He always made it a point to look the other direction. I guess when you look at the statistics and see that Louisville Elementary Schools rank 226 out of 321 and this school has 5-stars here on School Digger, is it really a 5-Star school when it’s at the bottom at 226? In short, we're glad to be out of this school. In our new school here in XXX, we've met the school principal and the counselor on our first visit to the school and we have an appointment scheduled with the District School Psychologist who reached out to us first to discuss our child’s IEP."

"This school is fantastic. When faced with the decision of Catholic School vs Public school, we did A LOT of research. JCPS as a whole gets a bad reputation, but the reality is, there are some fantastic schools within the district and Norton is one of them. I strongly urge anyone making a decision on where to send their elementary age child(ren) to do their research! Make your decision based on facts. Make an educated decision, not one based on hearsay. Every teacher, assistant, lunch room aide, custodian, office worker and principal within Norton Elementary cares about your child."

"My daughter attended Norton from 2nd-5th grade. The principal Mr Stites is so friendly and relatable to the kids. I have personally seen him call children out by name as classes walk down the hall- he knows all of them. He sends home these very candid newsletters and isn't afraid to have a real, relatable personality instead of the stuffy all business types that head up many of our schools. We had a few struggles in communication with the counselor, who is not the most responsive fellow, but the front office staff is fantastic, the PTA is fantastic, the principal is fantastic, and my daughter had 2 phenomenal teachers in 3rd and 5th grade that she will carry with her in a lifetime of positive memories. (That's Klapheke and Peterson if you're fortunate enough for your child to be in their classrooms). There are a lot of teachers at Norton who make learning so much fun. Every child in that school can tell you a funny story about Ms. Dianne, the music teacher. In addition to the personalities at Norton, my daughter excelled academically and the school ranks just about as high as you can in academic success. When we moved there, we were fortunate to find a group of girls and moms that welcomed us into a girl scout troop, and took us under their wing to show us the ropes. All of those moms were also members of the Norton PTA, which is outstanding as far as involvement and working hard to provide a fantastic experience for our kids. Not to mention the fundraising they've done to improve technology in the classrooms as well. All in all, we've just enrolled my son who starts kindergarten there next week-- after being away for 2 years, we are glad to be a part of the Norton Family once again."

"I cannot say enough great things about this school. the principal is incredible, the teachers and office staff really care about every child you can tell the second you walk into the school. our daughter learned and developed so much confidence from this school it really is amazing!"

"We love it here. It's funny that it wasn't our first choice of school. We thought we wanted another school based on what neighbors said. I don't think people realize what they are missing."

"First, the building is completely unsafe and they give any adult access to children without knowing them. Second, the counselor is worthless at his job...he ignores abuse in homes and offers no support to kids that need it. Third, the leadership does not know how to deal with difficult situations that arise from divorced families and discriminates against Dads. This school does not support dad involvement. If you are not the typical Norton family they don’t want you there. Some of the teachers are amazing but the leadership is awful. Test scores don’t mean everything. Find a school that is concerned with your child’s emotional health as well."

"Exceptional school with exceptional teachers and ancillary staff!"

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"This is an outstanding public school with the KPREP scores to prove it. I have two kids here and cannot tell you how pleased I am with (1) the academic rigor (2) the experienced and friendly teachers, administration and staff (3) the parents, who are involved and down to earth (4) the diversity of the students. You do not have to move out of the county or stretch your finances on a private school to give your kids an excellent education. Norton is a jewel."